Maddie Ziegler
Madison "Maddie" Nicole Ziegler (born September 30, 2002) is a seventeen-year-old former dancer at the Abby Lee Dance Company. She is the daughter of Kurt and Melissa Ziegler and the older sister of Mackenzie Ziegler. Her parents are divorced, allegedly because dance got in the way of their marriage. Her mother Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni eventually re-married to a man named Greg Gisoni. She was shown on the show as Abby's favorite. She is very confident in her abilities and claims that she is stronger in tap and lyrical dancing than in any other style of dance. In the future, she hopes to be on Broadway as either a dancer or a choreographer. Maddie has gotten plenty of opportunities in the entertainment industry, such as an acting role in Drop Dead Diva and the music video "Chandelier" by Sia. Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler left Dance Moms due to acting jobs and modeling jobs. Maddie and her family departed from the show and the team in mid-season six. to do other acting jobs. Maddie even stated in a interview that she was stressed at eleven years old which never happens. Early life Maddie was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Melissa Ziegler-Gisoni and Kurt Ziegler, who owned a mortgage company. She is of Polish, German and Italian descent. Her parents divorced in 2011, citing the financial and emotional toll that dance took on the family, and her mother married Greg Gisoni in 2013. Maddie has been an active member of the Abby Lee Dance Company since the age of two. She trains in tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, acro, jazz and aerial dance. Maddie has a younger sister, Mackenzie (b. June 4, 2004), a dancer and singer who appeared with her on Dance Moms, two older half-brothers from her father's previous marriage, and two older step-siblings from the previous marriage of her step-father, Greg Gisoni, a vice-president at Westinghouse Electric Company. Maddie attended Sloan Elementary School until 2013 when she left to be homeschooled. Maddie and her family have long lived in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, and now split their time between Murrysville and Los Angeles. Career Maddie has won numerous titles at regional, state and national dance competitions, including the 2014 Dancers Choice Award for Favorite Dancer 17 & Under. In 2010, Maddie performed for Paula Abdul's reality television program Live to Dance, but the program was canceled before her performance aired. In 2011, eight-year-old Maddie and her mother were given roles in the first season of Lifetime's Dance Moms, a reality show about the young dancers on Abby Lee Miller's Abby Lee Dance Company Elite Competition Team and their often quarrelsome mothers. Maddie continued to appear on the show alongside her mother and younger sister, Mackenzie, until 2016, their last season on the show. In 2013, Maddie made guest appearances on a spin-off program, Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition. Dance Moms helped to make Maddie "one of the most famous dancers in the entertainment world currently. ... She inspires other dancers to pursue their dreams with originality and grace. Philanthropy In 2012, Ziegler, along with her mother and sister, partnered with Starlight Children's Foundation. To help raise awareness for chronically ill youth. Ziegler stated that she enjoys dedicating her time to helping other children and that it is a rewarding experience. Filmography Acting credits As herself Music videos Awards and nominations Facts about Maddie *Maddie performed for the television program Live to Dance in 2010; but the program was canceled before her performance(s) aired. A video showing an excited reaction can be viewed here, with Maddie wearing the same costume she used elsewhere for "Sunshine & Lollipops." *Maddie performed in Alexx Calise's music video for "Cry" (watch video.) Gianna co-choreographed the dance, and took Maddie to the filming during Melissa's absence. *Maddie appeared in the role of Young Deb in a fourth-season broadcast of Drop Dead Diva. *She performed in the second season finale of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition. *She was cast in the music video for the song "Chandelier" by the artist Sia. Sia, a fan of reality television, has said her "dream was to hire her." Sia also tweeted that she had contacted Maddie and her agent directly via Twitter, saying Maddie stood out for her; and denying claims that Abby had been involved in Maddie's selection for the part. The music video was filmed in April, 2014, and released May 6th. (Watch Video.) Sia was extremely complimentary towards Maddie ("the most talented and professional individual I've ever worked with!"), and that "people were crying on set because Maddie is so other-worldly." Sia also indicated that she enjoyed Mackenzie as a pop music artist. In less than 100 days after its release, the YouTube vevo video for "Chandelier" had thus far received 100 million views. **''MTV'' reviewed the Sia/Maddie music video, saying it was "creepy cool"; that the "tiny dancer... channels some wild lunatic spirit"; and it is "the weirdest/best dance video since Robyn’s 2011 “Call Your Girlfriend.”" Later, the MTV Video Awards nominated the video (along with four others) for 2014 "Video Of The Year." **A review by Billboard called it "a dazzling dance performance." **''Time'' magazine wrote that it may be the best dance routine of the year, and that it is "the choreography that steals the show." **''Slate'' referred to it as "Maybe the best dance video of the Year." **''VH1'' wrote that they had been pushing the song as an early contender for Song of the Summer, and with the release of the full video, "we’re even that much more in love." **''USA Today'' called the video "just plain incredible," with Maddie dancing "with amazing grace and abandon for just under 4 minutes. Words won’t do this justice, just watch." **The video also exists in an extended edit version. **With input from Sia, Ryan Heffington served as choreographer for the video, the video itself winning "Best Choreography" at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards. *Beacuase of Chandelier, Maddie has performed live on Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and Dancing With The Stars. *Maddie, along with several other members of the Dance Moms cast, appeared and starred in Todrick Hall's video "Freaks Like Me" as the Red Queen and Cinderella. It was released on July 3rd, 2014. The music video can be seen in full here. *On October 24, Maddie performed with Sia at the We Can Survive concert at the Hollywood Bowl ("Chandelier", "Big Girls Cry", "Elastic Heart", "Diamonds"). Story with photos. Trivia *In the summer of 2014, Maddie told Channel Nine's Today Show that she trains 40 hours per week, frequently until 8:45 to 9:30 at night. *Maddie's lucky number is 13. *According to her official site, one of the most important lessons Maddie has learned so far is not to read the internet about herself, because most of the times people will judge without realizing that what they see on TV is not real, and their comments can be really hurtful. *Her favorite dances to perform are lyrical and tap, but she likes to watch all types of dance. *Her favorite subject in school is math. *Her favorite colors are neon blue, pink, and purple. *Her favorite animal is a dolphin. *Both Maddie and Mackenzie have stated how close they are to Brooke Hyland. When asked about Maddie's closest friend at Abby Lee Dance Company, Melissa responded that Brooke was. Maddie has stated that Brooke is her inspiration. Mackenzie has said that she and Brooke are really close and Brooke is like an older sister to her. *There is a room in her house called "The Store" that has all of her and Mackenzie's dance items. *Outside of dance, she and her sister take voice lessons. *She and the other girls met Nick Jonas at his Broadway show "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." *Maddie and Mackenzie have iPhones, and all the girls received iPads for the second season of Dance Moms. *Melissa said that she made Maddie and Mackenzie pay for their phones (and screen protectors). *Her mother used to work at the front desk at the Abby Lee Dance Company to pay off the cost for dance during season one and the first half of season two. *Maddie's original name was Taylor, but after two days it was changed to Madison. *Despite recieving the scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet Summer Camp Intensive, Melissa stated on Twitter that Maddie was not able to participate. *Her favorite shows are Jessie and Shake It Up. *According to Mackenzie, Maddie is bossy, but they still have fun together. Mackenzie also says they never get competitive with each other because she wants to be different. *Maddie dances in her sleep. *Her Zodiac sign is Libra. *Besides dancing, her other passions are makeup and hair. *Maddie's favorite singer is Justin Bieber, and she also loves Selena Gomez. *Her favorite book is Dolphin Tales. *Her favorite cities are New York and Los Angeles. *Maddie has taken dance, voice, and acting lessons at the Abby Lee Dance Company since she was 2.5 years old. *If she had to pick between dance, acting, and singing, she'd pick "100% dance". *She does not read the internet about herself. *Her favorite solo is "Uphill Battle" because it was challenging to her. *When asked what she does in her free time, Maddie says that when she's not dancing, she's at home - dancing. Sometimes she will play games with Mackenzie, pretending to be dance teachers. *Following the Hylands departure from the show in season four, Maddie sadly recalled that Paige was her best friend. *In season four, Maddie has stated she is working on her acting, and has been auditioning for movies. *She has very long brown hair and just like Kendall and Brooke she has blue eyes. She also has braces which she had since the fall of 2012. Her braces are off in the Christmas Special because she got them removed sometime before the filming of the special. *On her eleventh birthday, Gianna praised her by calling her "the most hard working, talented and loving girl I know!" *There are rumors that Maddie isn't returning for season 5 as she may be on Broadway. Maddie herself gave her expectations for her future when the show will end someday, in an interview with inTouch, published July 29th, 2014: "I’ll still be at the studio every day and I'll still take dance very seriously. And, the girls there are my best friends. I don't really worry about the show ending, because all that stuff will stay the same!" *Maddie received a perfect score for her solo, Leaving Berlin, at Sheer Talent nationals in 2013. *From the end of season 4.5, Maddie would have done 51 solos in total. *she has been seen on magazine covers and in feature articles. *She models for Capezio, Ralph Lauren and Target, among other brands. *She has her own clothing line called MaddieStyle. *Her and Mackenzie have their own dolls. Gallery Page Content Credit This page uses content taken from the article Maddie Ziegler on the [http://dancemoms.wikia.com Dance Moms Wiki]. Category:Dance Moms Category:Dancer Category:Abby Lee Dance Company Members Category:Female Category:The Zieglers